Agenda item

Criminal Convictions and Immigration Guidance

Minutes:

The Committee received and considered the report of the Executive Director on the Council’s Criminal Convictions Policy and Immigration Guidance in relation to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers.

 

In 2015, the Council adopted a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licensing: Criminal Convictions Policy, the purpose of which was to provide guidance on the criteria taken into account by the Council when determining whether or not an applicant, or an existing licence holder, was a fit and proper person to hold a dual drivers licence; a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle Licence; and/or a Private Hire Operators Licence.

 

In September 2017, the Government established the Task and Finish Group (TFG) on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing to consider evidence relating to the adequacy of taxi and private hire legislation and to make recommendations for actions to address any priority issues identified.  In the following September (2018), the Group published its report ‘Taxi and Private Hire Licensing – steps towards a safer and more robust system’, which made a total of 34 recommendations, many of which had already been adopted by the Council.  The report called upon the Government to legislate for national minimum standards and to set such standards at a level that ensured high minimum safety standards (recommendation 2).  In addition it called for urgent guidance on the relevance of previous convictions and the period for which exclusions from licensing should apply (recommendation 21).

 

In February 2019, the Government published its response to the TFG report, accepting that there was a need for greater consistency and collaboration in regulation to address changes and the concerns of the public, the trade and regulators, and three key measures recommended to achieve a safe service for passengers, namely: national minimum standards, national enforcement powers and a national licencing database.  The latter two measures were beyond the Council’s scope of powers but the Council could introduce measures towards achieving robust standards in advance of the introduction of any national minimum standards being ratified.

 

The Institute of Licensing (IoL) had published its ‘Guidance on Determining the Suitability of Applicants and Licensees in the Hackney and Private Hire Trades’ in April 2018, which was welcomed by the Government in their response to the TFG and had stated that, subject to consultation (which took place between February and April 2019), it was the intention to include this in the national minimum standards.

 

The Council’s Criminal Convictions policy presented to Members had been amended in line with the IoL guidelines and the Government’s draft guidance, which incorporated those omissions identified, along with other minor variations and was attached to the report at Appendix A.

 

Members had the opportunity to raise questions and the following points were noted:

 

·       the guidance had been simplified by grouping offences together under general headings;

·       when considering an application for a licence, allegations that did not result in a conviction could also be taken into consideration.  Members requested that the sentence at 2.6 in the guidelines, ‘This will also include complaints where there has been no police involvement’, be shown as a point in its own right in order to highlight it further;

·       no applicants were to be deterred from applying for a licence and would be considered against guidelines set out in the policy;

·       the removal of the requirement for written references was due to the availability of relevant information through the newly established Anti Fraud Network database; and

·       further Government guidance was expected in the future, therefore the policy would need amending again at that point.

 

RECOMMENDED: That the Council’s existing Criminal Convictions policy be amended in line with the Institute of Licensing guidelines and the Government draft guidance, as set out in Appendix A, as amended.

Supporting documents: